Benazir murder plot hatched at Pak brigadier’s home: Report
Islamabad, December 31
The plot behind the assassination of former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto was hatched at the home of a Pakistani army brigadier, claimed a media report, which was dismissed as “totally concocted” by Interior Minister Rehman
Malik. A fresh probe had uncovered the role of nine men, including the brigadier in whose residence the plot was hatched, 'The Express Tribune' newspaper reported today quoting unnamed sources.

Jindal most popular Guv in US: Poll
Washington, December 31
Indian-origin Louisiana leader Bobby Jindal is the most popular serving governor in the US, an opinion poll has said. Jindal has an approval rating of 58 per cent approval rating, along with 34 per cent disapproving of his job, shows a survey by Public Policy Polling. California's Arnold Schwarzenegger is the least popular Governor in the country with an approval rating of just 25 per cent.

Now, get your genome in mins!
London, December 31
British scientists claim to be developing a new technology which could ultimately sequence a person's genome in mere minutes, at a fraction of the cost of current commercial techniques.

A man along with his son kayak past flooded cars in Bundaberg (Queensland) on Friday. — AFP

n PM Julia Gillard has assured help to the 200,000 persons affected

n Rivers inundate 22 towns in the state of Queensland

n Waters have covered area larger than France and Germany combined

n Thousands flee as the country braces up for more waters

Universal cellphone charger in 2011London, December 31Frustration of your mobile phone running out of charge, and not being able to get your hands on a compatible charger, will be a
passe. A universal charger for all mobiles is coming in early 2011.

Islamabad, December 31
The plot behind the assassination of former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto was hatched at the home of a Pakistani army brigadier, claimed a media report, which was dismissed as “totally concocted” by Interior Minister Rehman Malik.

A fresh probe had uncovered the role of nine men, including the brigadier in whose residence the plot was hatched, 'The Express Tribune' newspaper reported today quoting unnamed sources.

The findings of the investigation, conducted under the Interior Ministry's supervision, were deliberately kept under wraps, even from the ruling PPP's top leaders, it claimed.

The probe's findings are in the possession of Interior Minister Malik and had been seen only by President Asif Ali Zardari in its entirety, the report said.

It did not say whether the brigadier purportedly identified by the probe was a serving or a former army officer.

However, the Interior Minister dismissed the report.

“It is a totally concocted story, a false story. No conspiracy was hatched in any brigadier's home,” Malik told reporters in Karachi.

He said the reports he had received so far on the assassination did not show the involvement of a brigadier.

The conspiracy to assassinate Bhutto was hatched in militant hideouts and not in the home of any brigadier, Malik said. The Express Tribune reported that Zardari had “temporarily shelved plans” to share the contents of the inquiry report earlier this week.

Zardari was keen to “first take the army leadership into confidence before ordering the arrest of certain uniformed personnel over their alleged involvement” in the assassination, the report said.

Five of the nine conspirators are alive while the other four, including those sent to kill Bhutto, are dead, according to the inquiry report.

The five surviving men “were the ones who hired the killers and gave them shelter and logistical support”. They will “now be formally chargesheeted and put on trial,” the daily reported.

“Both logistical support and rehearsals for the murder were arranged by uniformed persons, who were part of the plot. Militant groups, which were working closely with the nine plotters, provided the manpower,” the report further said.

The daily claimed that Zardari was “undecided on how to handle the more explosive contents of the inquiry report”. It quoted sources as saying Zardari had “deliberately withheld presentation of the inquiry report before the PPP central executive committee” during a recent meeting at Naudero in Sindh province.

Though "Zardari had agreed in principle to make the report public, he wanted to give it some more thought," the report said.

The daily further reported that the military leadership had "signalled their willingness to cooperate with the civilian government and put any accused military officer on trial." — PTI

Washington, December 31
Indian-origin Louisiana leader Bobby Jindal is the most popular serving governor in the US, an opinion poll has said. Jindal has an approval rating of 58 per cent approval rating, along with 34 per cent disapproving of his job, shows a survey by Public Policy Polling. California's Arnold Schwarzenegger is the least popular Governor in the country with an approval rating of just 25 per cent.

In 2007, Jindal became the first elected non-white Governor of Louisiana and also the first ever Indian American Governor of an American State. — PTI

London, December 31
British scientists claim to be developing a new technology which could ultimately sequence a person's genome in mere minutes, at a fraction of the cost of current commercial techniques.

A team at Imperial College London has already patented an early prototype technology which they believe could lead to an ultrafast commercial DNA sequencing tool within 10 years, the Nano Letters journal reported.

The research suggests that researchers could eventually sequence an entire genome in a single laboratory procedure, whereas at present it can only be sequenced after being broken into pieces in a highly complex and time-consuming process.

Fast and inexpensive genome sequencing could allow ordinary people to unlock the secrets of their own DNA, revealing their personal susceptibility to diseases such as Alzheimer's, diabetes and cancer, say the scientists.

Dr Joshua Edel, one of the authors on the study from the Department of Chemistry at Imperial College London, said: "Compared with current technology, this device could lead to much cheaper sequencing: Just a few dollars, compared with £1million to sequence an entire genome in 2007.”

"We haven't tried it on a whole genome yet but our initial experiments suggest that you could theoretically do a complete scan of the 3,165 million bases in the human genome within minutes, providing huge benefits for medical tests, or DNA profiles for police and security work.” — PTI

London, December 31
Frustration of your mobile phone running out of charge, and not being able to get your hands on a compatible charger, will be a passe. A universal charger for all mobiles is coming in early 2011.

The world's 14 most prominent mobile manufacturers have been sent details by the European Commission of a new standard connection, after they agreed to sign up to it in June 2009.

The technical specifications are based on the micro- USB connector that many mobile manufacturers have already begun to use. Samsung, Apple, Nokia and Research in Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry, are among those that have agreed to adopt it, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported. The micro-USB jack is already becoming common as manufacturers, including those outside the 14 who have already agreed on it, have made the shift in preparation. The commission anticipates that the first devices whose chargers meet the precise details of the new standard will appear early next year. — PTI

A woman wearing the costume of a Snegurochka (Snow Maiden) (L), walks outside of the Red Square in Moscow, on Friday. New Year is the biggest holiday of the year in Russia, and is followed by the Orthodox Christmas on January 7. — AFP

Taliban commander killed in Afghanistan
Kunduz: A top Taliban commander and his bodyguard were killed during an overnight operation by Afghan and NATO forces in northern Afghanistan, the police said on Friday. Mawlawi Bahadur was killed on Thursday night in Chahar Dara, a militant-plagued district of Kunduz province, a police spokesman said. Bahadur was the Tailban's shadow governor for the northern Afghan province. One of his bodyguards was also killed and four others accompanying him injured in the operation, he said. — AFP

Facebook is most visited site
New York: Facebook has toppled Google for the first time as the most visited site in the US for the year 2010, according to a study. The social networking site was the most visited, with 8.9 per cent of all US visits between January and November 2010, according to Experian Hitwise, an online measurement service provider. Facebook moved to the top slot within a span of six years. Google.com ranked second with about 7.2 per cent of all visits, followed by Yahoo! Mail (3.52%), Yahoo! (3.3%) and YouTube (2.65%). — PTI

NKorea TV airs 'Bend it Like Beckham'
Seoul: Breaking the monotony of regular programmes and propaganda on North Korea's state TV, the channel has broadcast first ever western film - Gurinder Chadha's 'Bend it Like Beckham'. The 2002 film was aired on December 26. “Happy Christmas in Pyongyang. On 26/12 Bend it Like Beckham was 1st ever western-made film to air on TV. —
PTI